Kelly McParland: Jack Layton’s passing is a Canadian tragedy

Every election Jack Layton fought as a federal party leader, he did better than the one before. In doing so, he elevated the New Democratic Party from perennial also-ran status into the Official Opposition, with a very real chance of forever changing the fundamental structure of Canadian politics.

Perhaps equally telling, he managed to do it while making few enemies in a profession where enemies abound, and winning a unique position among Canadians, millions of whom liked and sympathized with him even if they rejected his politics.

When Layton took over the federal NDP, they were near the bottom of a long slide. From relative legitimacy as a third voice among Ottawa’s main parties, it had slid to fourth place, just one seat ahead of the moribund Progressive Conservative party, which had in fact won more seats and a higher percentage of the vote in the 2000 election. The party was barely hanging on, thanks to the concentration of its vote in a few strong pockets.

Layton changed everything, though it was a protracted slog, with plenty of setbacks along the way. In 2004 he increased the seat count by 50% to 19, and doubled the number of votes the party attracted. In 2006 he again raised its share of the vote and total vote count, and bumped the seat count to 29. Two years later he increased the size of the caucus further, this time to 37 seats, close to its historic high, while attracting 18% of the vote.

All in all it was a respectable record, and Layton used it skillfully, extracting promises from Prime Minister Paul Martin that forced a last-minute change in the Liberals’ budget in return for enough NDP votes to keep the minority government alive a few more months. Layton squeezed $4.6-billion in concessions from Martin, winning a whole grab bag of goodies: $1.6-billion for affordable housing, $1.5-billion to ease tuition fees, $900-million for environmental programs, $500-million in foreign aid … and a pledge to delay planned tax cuts for big corporations. The list was so extensive that Finance Minister Ralph Goodale couldn’t even pretend to be pleased, grumbling “I would have preferred my original plan” when cornered by the press.

He wasn’t as successful under the Conservative minority governments in terms of policy concessions, but the NDP nonetheless used the five years after the Tories’ 2006 victory to strengthen their position against the second-place Liberals. While the Liberals went through leader after leader, changing positions and policies and frittering away their image as Canada’s inevitable party of power, the NDP under Layton not only looked better-led, but more certain of itself and its policies. Every time the Liberals agreed to prop up the Tories one more time, rather than risk an election, the NDP let everyone know it. Layton rejected Liberal efforts to paint the NDP as a natural ally, attacking Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff just as vociferously — and often more so — as he did the Conservatives. Mr. Harper, not known for his political friendships, showed an open respect and affection for the gritty performance of the NDP leader.

All of which led to Mr. Layton’s triumph, the victory of last May, which shocked the Liberals, surprised the country and produced a breakthrough in Quebec even the party’s most fervent supporters hadn’t expected. Based largely on Mr. Layton’s personal standing and popularity, the NDP won 103 seats, knocked the separatist Bloc Quebecois into an oblivion from which it appears unlikely to emerge, and established the party as the Official Opposition for the first time in federal history. No one doubted that it was Mr. Layton’s victory, a personal achievement that carried the opportunity to forever change Canada’s federal landscape, isolating the Liberals and establishing a two-party system pitting left against right in a way middle-of-the-road Canadians had long resisted.

Mr. Layton’s election night appearance, carrying his cane and enjoying the cheers that came with his achievement, was unquestionably his greatest moment as a politician. It raised so many possibilities the NDP had rarely contemplated, opening doors most thought were locked to them. And he managed it with such personal integrity and a touch of the commonplace, that much of the country referred to him simply as “Jack,” and didn’t begrudge him his moment.

It’s a tragedy that that shining accomplishment should be followed so swiftly by the cruelty of cancer and his disappearance from the scene. Canadian politics is a lot poorer for the passing of Jack Layton, as is Canada as a whole. He will be greatly missed.

In the wake of a Grammy Awards ceremony that disappointed many, from Kanye West to the masses on Twitter lamenting the state of pop music, a historical perspective is key. Few are better poised to offer one than Andy Kim.